Man severely injured after being struck by Sheriff’s Office vehicle settles lawsuit with county

STOCKTON -- San Joaquin County has reached a tentative $4 million lawsuit settlement with the family of a man who suffered permanent brain damage after being struck by a Sheriff's Office vehicle responding to a call in Lathrop in 2016.

The proposed settlement will go before the Board of Supervisors for approval at Tuesday's meeting. Included in the Tuesday agenda is a letter from Deputy County Counsel Kristen Hegge.

"In the early morning hours of November 6, 2016, Plaintiff Hiram Estrada crossed into the unmarked intersection of Louise and Warfield Roads in Lathrop and was struck by a patrol vehicle, which was responding to a service call," Hegge's letter says.

"Mr. Estrada was severely injured and claims lifelong medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. While the County disputes liability for the accident, it has been determined that timely economic resolution, together with release of any, and all, potential claims is in the best interests of the County."

The city of Lathrop agreed months ago to a $250,000 settlement with the 32-year-old Estrada's family. Estrada's Bay Area-based attorney, Boris Efron, said Lathrop's culpability was failing to sufficiently light or mark the intersection where the accident occurred.

It was early on a November morning in 2016 that Estrada decided to walk home alone after spending the night out with his girlfriend at a Lathrop nightclub near the intersection of Louise Avenue and Interstate 5.

No one disputes that Estrada, who goes by David, had consumed alcohol at the nightclub. And there is very little doubt, according to court documents, that he "was causing a ruckus" as he walked home along Louise Avenue.

Someone heard the ruckus and called 911. San Joaquin County sheriff's Deputy Jose Hernandez responded. Hernandez's vehicle struck Estrada as he crossed the unmarked intersection of Louise and Warfield.

Estrada suffered severe physical injuries and lifelong brain damage that has left him permanently with the mental capacity of a 7-year-old, according to his Bay Area attorney, Boris Efron.

?(Estrada) is going to stay chronologically and intellectually the same," Efron said in an interview with The Record in March. "It's a tragedy."

Efron also said in March that the county faced "a $30 million exposure" if the case went to trial. County Counsel Mark Myles acknowledged at the time that a settlement offer already had been rejected by Estrada's family.

"There is a significant dispute over liability," Myles said at the time.

Estrada's attorney contends that Hernandez was driving 5 miles per hour above the 50 mph speed limit and drifted for unknown reasons into Estrada's path. The dashboard camera in Hernandez's vehicle captured the crash.

According to Hegge's letter, the county will pay $1 million of the settlement, with the rest of the agreement footed by the county's Self-Insurance Trust Fund.

According to Hegge, the $4 million settlement will be divided into five chunks: $1.5 million to an annuity firm, $1.278 million to Estrada's attorneys, $200,000 to a second annuity firm, and $300,000 to MetLife Assignment Company.

Hegge says the remaining $721,000 will be disbursed at a later time following resolution of a pending medical lien.

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or [email protected]. Follow him at recordnet.com/rphillipsblog and on Twitter @rphillipsblog.

___

(c)2019 The Record (Stockton, Calif.)

Visit The Record (Stockton, Calif.) at www.recordnet.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.